By Ethan Savluk

The Quinnipiac Bobcats returned to Burt Kahn Court as they looked to rebound from losses to Siena and Marist as they took on the 8-18 Bryant Bulldogs in a nonconference matchup. Bryant overcame early mistakes as it defeated Quinnipiac, 3-0. With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 4-19 (2-8 MAAC).

Senior libero Logan Riker (Bowling Green, Ohio) tried to rally her young Bobcats as they were able to keep all three sets competitive. Riker posted a team-high, 10 digs. Freshman middle hitter Allison Leigh (Palmer, Ala.) lead the Bobcats’ attack with seven kills and a .222 hitting percentage, while freshman setter Emma Ogden (Crown Point, Ind.) posted a game-high 26 assists.

Throughout the match, the Bobcats struggled to capitalize on the Bulldogs’ mistakes. The Bulldogs were plagued by 11 service errors, which helped the Bobcats keep the sets close.

In the first set, both teams went back and forth, as the Bulldogs were able to overcome eight errors, as they held off a late run by the Bobcats to win the set 25-22.

The Bulldogs then jumped out to an early five-point lead in the second set and never looked back. The Bobcats were able to cut the deficit to one, behind the play of freshman hitter Katie Urycki (Chesterton, Ind.) The Bulldogs then won the next eight of eleven points to win the set 25-19, lead by Claire Van Dyk. She set a game-high 12 kills.

In the third and final set, both teams again battled back and forth, as junior Tanner Celestin (Norco, Calif.) posted a set-high four kills for the Bobcats. The Bulldogs then went on another big run to close out the match 25-20.

The largest discrepancy between the two teams was in hitting percentage. The Bulldogs posted a modest .287 percentage, as the Bobcats were only able to record a .071 hitting percentage.

Quinnipiac will look to rebound in a conference matchup at Fairfield on Saturday.